Do women with psoriatic arthritis face higher risks during pregnancy?

In a study published in Arthritis & Rheumatology of Swedish women were pregnant, those with psoriatic arthritis (PsA) were more likely to experience preterm birth and require cesarean delivery.

The study included 921 women with PsA and 9,210 women without PsA. Risks of different pregnancy outcomes varied with the presence, timing, and type of antirheumatic treatments.

"The results may indicate that a more severe or active PsA disease that requires antirheumatic treatment during pregnancy, especially disease modifying antirheumatic drugs, is associated with increased risks of adverse pregnancy outcomes compared to non-PsA pregnancies," the authors wrote.